Long Beach State, ranked No. 1, improved their record to 19-0 to start the season after defeating NJIT 3-1 on Friday night at Walter Pyramid. 🏐🔥

Long Beach State started the match with three powerful blocks to take a 3-0 lead. A short run by the hosts increased the lead to 7-2 after an attack by Daniil Hershtinovich. An ace by Moni Nikolov and a block by Hershtinovich completed a 5-0 run, giving LBSU a 22-8 lead. A service ace by Georgi Binev ended the first set – 25-9.

The second set began with an early advantage for NJIT (7-11). At 11-11, Long Beach State went on a 7-0 run after two consecutive aces by Nikolov to take an 18-11 lead. His fifth ace of the match extended the lead to 21-11. LBSU won the set after an attack by Hershtinovich – 25-14.

NJIT started the third set strong, leading 6-2. Three consecutive blocks by the hosts led to a 7-7 tie. NJIT stayed in the game and after an exchange of points, tied at 23-23. Their strong run continued, and they took the set 25-23.

The fourth set was competitive until 10-8 for the hosts. An attack by Nikolov increased the lead to 15-12. LBSU went on a 4-0 run for 19-13 and held the lead. A block by Nikolov and an attack by Varga made the score 23-17, and Sani closed out the match.

🔹Moni Nikolov finished with 16 points(7 kills at 60% efficiency, 5 aces and 4 blocks) and added 35 assists.
🔹Georgi Binev recorded 1 point from a serve.
🔹 LBSU recorded 22 blocks and limited NJIT to9.6%attack efficiency, while they themselves attacked with37.9%.
🔹 Hershtinovich and Varga finished with 10 kills each.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday night at Walter Pyramid.